Yes, I am a boomer. Played in a rock band. And - the hearing is starting to go. Why isn't hearing

[NRaleighLiberal]

loss covered by insurance? I've done some searching around on that one - seems like a handicap to me, and when you think about some other things that are covered, it surprises me that there isn't a bigger issue around it not being covered. It's one of those things you don't think about - until it happens to you.

Here's a pretty good read for why insurance companies don't cover the issue.

http://califmedicineman.blogspot.com/2007/12/why-insurance-companies-dont-pay-for.html

It seemed to me that stem cell research is just the ticket for dealing with the underlying causes of hearing loss, so I googled around a bit and found that some major universities have programs dealing with this - this is one of the links I was reading

http://hearinghealthfoundation.org/curing_hearing_loss

At 58, I am facing the need soon for some hearing help for one ear at least (my patient wife walks on that side during our dog walks, and we've worked out the code for when I need her to speak up with out being a total pain about it!). My ear doc says part of it is genetic (both my grandparents were quite deaf), part of it was (is!) my love of loud music - including standing in front of the amp when I played the guitar in my 14 to 30 years. And attended lots of really loud concerts.

But I've also heard that they are really expensive and don't work all that well (the background noise issue and all).

Who is with me on this? Speak up, now! How are you dealing with it - esp. the great cost involved by actually doing something about it?

[NYC_SKP]

1. Not suffering yet as much as you, but might be before long.

I'm one year your junior, and am a bit hard of hearing. Also suffered ruptured ear drums as a child.

Don't know about the insurance part but fairly well versed on the hearing aid costs part of it.

In ear aids cost literally thousands. Some money can be saved at Costco and other discounters, but I'll bet a resourceful person can find them off the shelf for just a few hundred.

Eyeglasses have been getting out of hand too, a different story, I had lenses made by a father daughter place in one day for about $70 bucks, Lens Crafters wanted several hundred.

It's a racket.

Good luck!

[NRaleighLiberal]

2. yes, a racket.

Eyeglasses - don't get me started on those too!

good to see you, friend!

[kysrsoze]

10. It's indeed a racket. Our daughter has sensorineural (genetic) hearing loss

They don't cover shit for hearing aids, and hearing aids are ungodly expensive. It blows my mind that they can make something like a modern-day smartphone for a couple hundred bucks, but to this day, hearing aids can cost thousands of dollars. They have a captive audience with no other options, and can charge the same usury-level rates for their products as pharmaceutical companies because people are in need and have no insurance for it.

But this is a true medical issue, which they treat like foot corns - you're on your own. And unfortunately, hearing loss isn't as sexy, deadly or whatnot (though quite debilitating, IMO), compared to other problems, so it doesn't get a whole lot of funding research.

At some point, she may need cochlear implants - we just don't know right now. I believe those are at least partially covered. At least I'm hoping so.

[Uncle Joe]

14. If you can't afford thousands for hearing aids you can get cheaper versions for a couple hundred

dollars each at Bass Pro Shop.

Hunters use them to hear better, I used them for a while before I got my hearing aids which cost about $3,500.

The hunting hearing amplifiers can magnify sound anywhere from 7x to 10x.

[KT2000]

3. as far as working well

I have heard from one man he can't find one that works for him but my sister says hers works well. Believe me - there is a huge difference when she does not have hers in. She got hers through the doctor's office.

Go for it any way you can. Research some brands and find one that attempts to filter background noise. It is so nice to be able to talk with my sister and not have to yell and repeat everything. Really.

[MuseRider]

4. Hearing aides are EXPENSIVE!

I lost 80% in one ear and about 40% in the other playing in the symphony, I sit in front of the brass and have been doing ensemble music since I was 8 years old. I LOVE my hearing aides but live in fear of getting in the shower with them or losing them.

They do not help with my tinnitus sadly but I no longer have to read lips or guess what someone is saying. I no longer have to hope I answered the right question and I don't have to ask people to repeat all the time. The best thing I noticed within a minute of trying them out was that I could sit back and relax during a conversation, I no longer felt like it was a pain in the ass to talk to people.

Get them if you can, I doubt they are going to get any cheaper. I HAD to get them because I could no longer hear well enough to play.

[uppityperson]

13. I have gotten in the shower a couple times to jump out, swipe them out of my ears, open

the battery doors while muttering curses. I have a dehydrator thing I charge up and put them in overnight and both times they were ok.

[MuseRider]

22. Good to know!

Thanks.

[uppityperson]

23. Remember to say bad words when it happens though. That part is important.

The device I put them in is a plastic container with a packet of beads in it. I put the packet in the microwave for 30 sec, let it cool and the beads turn blue indicating they can absorb moisture. I think there are fancier electronic devices, but this works well for me.

[MuseRider]

24. We have saved

a lot of those silica packages that get packed in things. I actually filled a pocket full of water when a hose broke and it took me 10 minutes before I realized my phone was in there. I took it apart and left it in a closed tupperware with a bunch of those and it is OK, not perfect but OK.

SO glad we have those kinds of things for these situations.

[NV Whino]

5. Costco

Hearing aids these days are much improved. They are digital and have several programs for different situations. You can control them with a remote. They are BluTooth compatible. You can send TV sound and/or cell phone through them.

Cheap, they're not, but Costco has the best buy for high end digital.

[kysrsoze]

9. Costco also has loss/damage guarantees. That place rocks.

[pinboy3niner]

6. My brother had hearing impairment from his service in the Marine Corps pre-Vietnam

He was in artillery, armor and communications.

Funny thing was, he said, that it wasn't the guns of the arty and tanks that did it. It was from the static in his commo headphones because he had to have it turned way up without squelch to hear transmissions from distant units and those in bad terrain.

He lived with it for decades before going to the VA, and while they wouldn't recognize any disability, they would treat him and give him a hearing aid.

Veterans with conditions not covered by health insurance should check out the VA.

[JimDandy]

28. Mine was from a drill seargent

who SCREAMED, literally in my ear, on a run. I immediately yelled out in pain (probably in HIS ear). The pain was excruciating in that ear for a couple of days. My hearing, in that ear only, has deteriorated over the years since then.

Seems to me that military service is a prime indicator of who is likely to sustain some level of hearing loss. And that is not covered medical even for Vets.

[Live and Learn]

7. Same reason vision and teeth aren't covered, I guess.

Because so many have problems with them?

[nomorenomore08]

8. Pete Townshend has used some fancy expensive equipment to deal with his hearing loss.

I assume whatever he's got is probably way out of the average musician's price range though.

[shraby]

11. I have aids for both ears. I also find that one of the headphone things that

plug into the t.v. is great for listening to the t.v. It can be even muted and I can still hear the program from anyplace in the house.
I can hear it better without using the hearing aids using the headphones.

[uppityperson]

12. I have them in both ears, can hear well most of the time and I agree, insurance should cover basic

hearing aids and glasses. And dentistry.

DU has a Deaf and Hard of Hearing group, though it has been pretty quiet in there. Pun meant.

I've has ha's for 9 years now, combination genetics, loud noises, childhood concussion. My first ones were refurbished ones, digital at $400 each vs the $1100 my current ones ran. I try and save money ahead, but you know how that goes. Top of the line ones at $3000+ are way beyond what I could do. I have had small in the canal ones, then slightly larger in the ear ones, now have behind the ear type for which you do not need to be fitted.

I always recommend getting the hearing test done at one place, buy at another, unless you've someone you can trust. I had several recommendations to a local non-chain place and am happy. The chain place I checked out was into hard sell, local private place is not. In my state you get a 30 day trial, so if they try and tell you that is a special offer, they are lying. ( I had that happen at one place).

I like my current ones, with a volume thing so I can turn up 1 ear when in a crowded place to hear conversation next to me. They took a little getting used to until I realized they are tiny little speakers and my brain made the switch to it being ok, if that makes sense.

Good luck and feel free to talk more via pm, always willing to share stories.

[laundry_queen]

15. My dad was lucky

He worked in a very noisy job, so even though his hearing loss was likely genetic (both his parents were profoundly deaf by the time they were 80 - my grandmother is so bad she has to have the lights on her phones and doorbells because she can't hear them even with her hearing aid on max) some was probably related to his job so he was able to claim it through worker's compensation (here in Canada). He received his hearing aids - no cost to him - about 5 years ago - he's now 62 - and he wore them occasionally. Last year he went on vacation and somehow lost his hearing aids. Let's just say there was a huge difference in being able to talk with him. He just got new ones a few weeks ago, and he said it's easy to forget all the sounds you are missing. He likes having his hearing aids in unless my kids are being really noisy (they are very high pitched so those noises bother him) but overall, hearing aids have really improved. His new ones are even better than his old ones from 5 years ago.

I don't agree with insurance companies - obviously, I don't think they should be involved in health care, period - but not all older people need hearing aids. Even though my paternal grandfather was nearly totally deaf, he refused hearing aids (instead teaching himself to read lips - my dad bought him inexpensive hearing aids and he refused to wear them) and my maternal grandparents never needed them, despite my grandfather being deaf in one ear since an illness as a child he had amazing hearing until he was 102 years old (when he died). I think it's definitely something that should be covered under some plan - either disability or gov't help - no one should go without hearing aids because of inability to pay, imo. Hearing is essential in daily modern life.

Good luck to you. I'm sure - due to genetics - I'll be dealing with this someday too.

[JDPriestly]

16. Hearing, vision and dental should all be covered.

Lack of good dental care can cause problems in the rest of your body.

In Europe this type of care is covered by the universal, single payer insurance if that is what you choose to have. Should be here too.

[Blue_In_AK]

17. My husband has tinnitus really bad

from working in ship engine rooms for 25 years. He's been told that nothing can be done about it.

But I agree -- hearing, vision and dental should all be covered.

[shanti]

18. I sympathize with your hubby

My tinnitus comes and goes. Biofeedback works for me sometimes. It's a PITA tho.

[IDemo]

20. I never worked in a loud environment, shot firearms, or played in a rock band

But I've had a high-pitched squeal in both ears for nearly 30 years.

[arikara]

25. My tinnitus got really bad at one point

drove me nuts and I couldn't sleep for the diesel engine running in my head. My family dr said there is nothing that could be done. He suggested an under the pillow speaker so I could go to sleep. That helped quite a bit actually. But what really helped was my Chinese medicine practitioner. One treatment of acupuncture pretty much got rid of it for quite awhile. I find it comes back the most now when I'm overtired.

[Scuba]

19. I've got a whole box full of hearing aids, including a pair of what were state-of-the-art jobs ...

... when I bought them about 15 years ago for the princely sum of $9,200. None of them work worth a damn for dealing with my tinnutis. Basically, they amplify everything so if there's any peripheral noise (which is almost everywhere) it gets amplified along with whatever it is I'm trying to hear. In a crowded restaurant, for example, they make things worse.

I have improved at lip reading and what I call "context extrapolation" to keep up with conversations, movies and such. And I'm pretty good at saying "sorry, I missed that".

Anyway, that's why I advocate for Medicare for All, including dental, hearing aids and optical services as well as nursing home and mental health coverage.

Good luck.

[mmonk]

21. My wife Susan is losing hers.

She is reluctant, however, to try hearing aids due to costs without taking care of the problem adequately.

[redstatebluegirl]

26. I am a boomer and getting ready to get a hearing aid in my late 50's

I would never not listen to Led Zep or the Stones up loud,it is the price i pay i guess . I attended, according to my ticket stubs, over 100 loud concerts over my years. Would never have missed a one. I saw Led Zep in concert when I was 16 that alone is worth the hearing aids .

[yeoman6987]

27. Loud music is as bad as smoking and junk food

Amazing that we have not discussed getting rid of concerts and other loud venues. More sin tax for any type of loud music would be most welcome. Everyone was warned about hazards of loud music, but nobody listened apparently.

[blm]

29. Used to work with music industry for years in LA-NY. Most everyone of our age

group there who worked in those days has hearing loss. Me, included.

I'm with you - it should definitely be covered by insurance.

[NRaleighLiberal]

30. Thanks to all who replied in this thread. I've bookmarked it and will refer to it as

I embark on my decision making about what to do, and when.